Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa has said that the European Commission’s revised vehicle emissions rules lack a clear growth strategy for the EU car industry, making it harder for the group to justify further investment in Europe, Financial Times reported.
Speaking to the news outlet, Filosa said: “This package does not do the job. There are none of the urgent measures needed to return the European automotive sector to growth.”
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Filosa had previously indicated that Stellantis could increase its spending in Europe if the 2035 phase-out plan for petrol engines were eased.
After the European Commission confirmed it would withdraw a requirement for carmakers to cut tailpipe emissions to zero by 2035, he said conditions for doing so had not been met.
Filosa said: “Without growth, it becomes very difficult to think about investing more.
“Without additional investments, it is difficult to build the resilient supply chain that is vital for European jobs, European prosperity and European security.”
Under the revised approach, auto makers will be permitted to keep emitting up to 10% of their 2021 levels and continue to sell some internal combustion and hybrid models.
However, they will be required to compensate for these emissions by using low-carbon steel and sustainable fuels, a condition that has unsettled parts of the sector.
Filosa argued that the package offered too little immediate support for the electrification of vans and other commercial vehicles.
He added that several conditions attached to the softened 2035 rules made it unclear how the system could be implemented on the ground.
Filosa said: “This is a measure whose cost may not be within reach for the volume carmakers who serve most of our citizens.”
Response from European carmakers and industry groups is split, with Renault backing the plan as addressing key challenges and VDA president Hildegard Müller calling it “disastrous” and overly difficult to implement.
Commission officials say the revised framework maintains the 2035 goal by requiring strict offsets for any continued combustion-engine use.
EU industry commissioner Stéphane Séjourné said: “Last March we said that the auto industry was at risk of death . . . and now we are putting a package on the table to support our industry.
“Is Europe calling into question its climate objectives? The answer is no.”
The obligations on green steel and renewable fuels were intended to “create a lead market for these new technologies that we will need for the green transition”, said an EU official.
EU Automotive Regions Alliance chair Guido Guidesi described the revision as “a step forward towards rationality, the market and consumers”, while arguing that much more might still be required.
The Automotive Regions Alliance is a grouping of regional authorities focused on decarbonising the car sector.
The EU debate contrasts with developments in the US, where President Donald Trump has been rolling back climate measures, including cancelling electric vehicle incentives and easing rules on vehicle emissions.
Those changes have contributed to sizeable write-downs on EV programmes at Ford and General Motors, while also prompting fresh commitments to hybrids and other petrol models.
Stellantis has said it plans to spend $13bn in the US over the next four years.
